Thursday, August 27, 2009

Roy Buchanan was one of America's most soulful masters of the electric guitar. Even posthumously, he commands the ardent respect of his fellow guitarists and a devoted army of fans. The Buchanan sound is totally unique: heartbreaking, searing solos, trademark shimmering tone, and a mixture of snarls, wails and squeals that mark him as a wizard of the instrument. He was a pioneer in the use of controlled harmonics, and although this technique has been used by rock's greatest guitarists, especially Jeff Beck, Robbie Robertson and Z.Z. Top's Billy Gibbons, all acknowledge Buchanan as the master.

Santana – Incident At Neshabur

On-screen: Santana – INCIDENT AT NESHABUR. Santana’s tropical sound and the unrelenting Santana signature guitar sound early in INCIDENT AT NESHABUR seems to portend the desperation of America’s Southesast Asian “domino theory” DRIVEN foreign policy as it was violently played out in tropical South Vietnam. Santana’s rapid drumbeat captures the martial rhythm of the U.S. draft machine that moved GI’s through training and onto the ground in Vietnam.Santana’s guitar riffs, midway through INCIDENT AT NESHABUR, and Santana’s intensity at that point, suggest a swarm of angry helicopters and rockets that instantaneously blast ground positions into enormous fireballs. The urgency of American troops in combat, hand to hand, or via flame-throwers and artillery, is matched to that of enduring emblems of the Vietnam War: street executions of Vietnamese and the nine-year old Vietnamese girl, Kim Phuc, fleeing naked in the aftermath of a napalm attack. With its intensity unabated, Santana’s guitar shifts to a pained tone as we see cargo-net lifts of Vietnamese and Vietcong dead. Relief from Santana’s instrumental frenzy arrives in the form of incredible aerial ballets over Vietnam by American planes spraying Agent Orange, and dropping propaganda leaflets and bombs.
The last melancholy notes play over a sweeping pan of Arlington National Cemetery and perfectly orchestrates the INCIDENT AT NESHABUR’s finale.

I came of age in the time that was also the age of the Beatles, and I've always been grateful for that simultaneity. Along with the Beatles, and no doubt because them, many of us grew into an awareness that shared tastes in music might also amount to shared community, and that community could amount to new ideals, new oppositions, new fun, art, fear and political power. Now, these years later, I think of the Beatles as one of the most romantic and dramatic exemplars of democracy that helped move youth culture in the 1960s: They were themselves a democratic unit — all for one, one for all, and in times of disagreement, they nonetheless enjoyed a fraternal sense of accord that made consensus a functional part of their shared dreams.

But democracy is always tenuous and, in any real way, ephemeral, and it was how the Beatles exemplified these latter qualities that is what made for the dynamics we saw at work in the Beatles' end story. By the time they came apart, no matter the personal differences and rivalries and any internal pain and madness, the Beatles were just too big and important to break up without saying something about the world that they had helped shape. As the 1960s' hopes of community and free-form democracy gave way to something harder and more bitter, the Beatles too fell prey to the dissolution, and they knew it. After all, they had believed so deeply in love as a means to personal and social redemption, there was no way they could leave each other without breaking both their times and each other's hearts.

This has all been observed in many ways in the past, and will be for generations to come. Yet even if it makes a sad sort of sense — a symbol of unity that ends, like the era it centered, in disunity — there will still always be something mysterious about why and how the Beatles came apart the way they did, in so much rancor and avarice. John Lennon always referred to the band's end as "a divorce," but that was simply how he justified his own leave-taking (and clearly, Lennon was no model for how to separate fairly from others, given how he left his first wife, Cynthia).

Coachella Valley Desert, outskirts of Palm Springs, CA.
110F out there, something like 44.4C. Towards the end of August, the temperature is capable of reaching 122F, and even more, about 50C +. The ever blowing hot wind turns the windmills, that help to produce some of the electricity on demand.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

We Still have some more video clips of the Historic Cars Races that happened @ the Wine Country Classic @ Infineon Raceway, Sears Point, CA May 2009. The quality of the video isn't that great, but hopefully good enough, so we can enjoy some of those unforgettable and gorgeous cars that raced from de late 30's till the early 70's.

Friday, August 7, 2009

The American-built SSC Ultimate Aero TT is a supercar built by Shelby Super Cars and the fastest street-legal production car in the world. It was built in order to rival the new Bugatti Veyron with speeds of over 408 km/h (254 mph) and a 0-60 mph time of 2.78 seconds (for the Ultimate Aero TT version). The company and vehicle are the brainchildren of Jerod Shelby with Athan Aridas who helped him, who spent over seven years designing the Aero. The car is the world's fastest production car at 412 km/h (256 mph), a speed reportedly achieved on September 13 2007 in West Richland, WA. The results of this test, verified by Guinness World Records on October 9 2007, gave the SSC Aero the world's fastest production car title.The SSC Ultimate Aero TT first appeared in 2004 under the name 'Aero SC/8T'; the Ultimate Aero is a limited production version of the Aero, offering even higher performance. From various sources, only 25 Aeros will ever be produced, but the sources conflict on actual models. The base Aero model is priced from $239,000, while the Ultimate Aero would cost well over $650,000 (as of 2007).The Aero's styling includes the use of butterfly doors similar to the ones found on the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, Saleen S7, and the Enzo Ferrari, to name a few. It uses carbon fiber and titanium extensively throughout the car, keeping the weight down to 1233 kg (for the standard Aero). For the Ultimate Aero, weight is further reduced to 1179 kg by marking the navigation system, 10-speaker audio/CD/DVD system, video/DVD screen, and back-up camera as optional equipment; and removing air-conditioning and any trunk space altogether.The engine in the base Aero model is a supercharged 6.2-litre (387.4 cu. in.) V8 engine rated at 787 bhp (587 kW) @ 6600 rpm and 998 Nm (736 ft-lb) torque @ 5800 rpm, while the Ultimate Aero has increased engine displacement and increased supercharger boost, resulting in 1,183 bhp (882 kW) @ 6950 rpm and 1113 Nm (821 ft-lb) torque @ 6200 rpm (Running on 104 octane gasoline).Wind tunnel testing indicates that the Ultimate Aero could possibly reach a top speed of 437 km/h (273 mph) given appropriate transmission gear ratios. The base Aero, however, should only reach around 386 km/h (240 mph).Despite its excellent performance, the Aero's fuel mileage is rated at 18 mpg city and 27 mpg highway (which is unusual for a supercar).SSC tested the Ultimate Aero TT' Top Speed capabilities on March 22, 2007. The original test was scheduled for March 21, 2007 but was called off because of snow. SSC closed down a 12-mile (19 km) stretch of U.S. Route 93 in Nevada for the event. Their goal was to attempt to replace the Bugatti Veyron as the fastest production car ever produced (which at the time was 253.8 mph). Simulation and testing at NASA's Virginia facility has shown that the car should be capable of about 273 mph (439 km/h). The March 22nd attempt failed to break the record because of sub-optimal temperature conditions. Test driver Rick Doria reported "wheel-spin" at speeds above 190 mph (306 km/h). Despite the weather, the car still managed to reach 230 mph (370 km/h).SSC announced they broke the speed record for the world's fastest production car with 256.15 mph (412.23 km/h) in West Richland, WA on September 13, 2007. The reported record speed comes from an average of two runs, one in each direction, in accordance with Guinness Book of World Record rules. The first run clocked 257.41. The return trip came up with 254.88 for the previously mentioned average of 256.15 besting Bugatti Veyron's speed by 2.35 mph (3.78 km/h). The results of this test, verified by Guinness World Records on October 9, 2007, gave the SSC Aero the world's fastest production car title.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

The Koenigsegg CCX supercar is one of Europe's premiere racing cars, but it is only available for consumption by those who have the ability to shell out the money needed for such an expensive, yet luxurious purchase. The Competition Coupe X is one of Koenigsegg's latest exotic car creations, all of which are known to be some of the best speed cars in the world. Koenigsegg sports cars are not available for mass consumption, mainly due to the large price of such automobiles. Base price is $540,000 + taxes, while fully equipped supercar costs $600,900 + taxes. The Koenigsegg CCX is a great purchase for those who can afford it, due to the fact that it is the tenth anniversary issue of the 1996 CX supercar model, which is one of Koenigsegg's best creations.

The supercharged V8 806 bhp @ 6900 rpm (redline at 7600 rpm) engines inside 1180 kg (2691 lbs) Koenigsegg CCX exotic cars are specially created for the people who design the Koenigsegg CCX though the design is highly based off of the Ford Modular engines, which provide other foreign companies with some of the best engine templates available. The engine is very compatible is various fuel types, and is able to run via gasoline and other bio-fuels, which are proving to be highly marketable, as well as the cars that can accommodate such technological advances. It is fully compliant with California emission regulations and is a street-legal motor. Koenigsegg CCX prides itself on being one of the best producers of tough, speedy cars, while also trying to adhere to environmental procedures that are growing with the high fuel prices and a stricter outlook on global warming.

The Koenigsegg CCX is the world's fastest car with a V8 engine, and has consistently won awards from various institutions all over the world, not only for its design and ability to operate at high speeds, but also for the ability of the people at Koenigsegg CCX to keep reinventing their product in a way that helps other philanthropic organizations. The Koenigsegg CCX is a great supercar to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the CX, while still being a great car independent of any others.

Koenigsegg CCGT is the racing version of the CC. The CCGT complies with the ACO and FIA GT1 regulations.

The CCGT engine is based on the Koenigsegg CCX production engine with the superchargers removed but enlarged to 5.0 litre. The reliability of the race engine is expected be exceptional as it is based on the proven strength and durability of the signifi cantly more powerful road car engine.

More Koenigsegg cars:

Geneva Auto Salon Press ReleaseThe NLV Quant – By Koenigsegg

Swedish supercar marque Koenigsegg and NLV Solar AG, a pioneer in photovoltaics and accumulator technology, have joined forces to create the Quant. The brainchild of this marriage of power and energy is a four-seater solar electric car. A full-scale model is to be unveiled at the 2009 Geneva Salon, with the two companies currently working on running prototypes to scale up for series production.

Two companies, one visionThe project was born when NLV Solar AG commissioned the environmentally aware Swedish supercar manufacturer Koenigsegg to develop and design a “car of the future”, incorporating NLV Solar’s groundbreaking, proprietary technology in the felds of photovoltaics and accumulators.

In 2008, the two companies signed a co-operation agreement to create a test vehicle for a unique propulsion system which makes optimum use ofthe solar technologies developed by NLV Solar AG, allied with an innovative accumulator unit. The groundbreaking thin-flm solar-cell coating is being implemented in one of Koenigsegg’s signature avant-garde designs.

Groundbreaking technologyThe advances in electric power generation and storage, combined with the aerodynamic, futuristic Koenigsegg design and engineering, will enable the NLV Quant to charge the FAES(Flow AccumulatorEnergy Storage) to full capacity in 20 minutes and give the vehicle a range of 500 kilometres. Theadditional power input from the invisible, thin-flm photovoltaic coating that covers the body of the car, further increases the range potential.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

The sky is blue, so why your plane should be simply white? Paint it in all the colors of a sunset... and pretty up the skies!

Some airline companies are clearly out-painting competition with their groovy air fleet. Often called aircraft livery, such special paint schemes can be exciting and even inspirational. Japan Airlines with their Disney jumbo jets comes to mind, in particular, plus Australian Qantas Airways has been commissioning famous artists to come up with exotic art for their "birds".

On this page we feature some particularly wild and even outrageous airliner paint schemes, from all over the world - send us more examples you spot in the airports or even if you had opportunity to fly inside one of these yourself...

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

We're flat-out on Germany's Sachsenring race track in the new Mercedes SLS AMG, chassis number 00045, a mildly camouflaged pre-production model. Ahead is an SL65 AMG Black Series--twin-turbo V-12, 670 hp, 738 lb-ft of torque--driven by Tobias Moers, head of AMG's r&d division, seasoned race instructor and today's pace-setter. Filling his mirrors, our red gullwing keeps pushing harder and harder, even though its normally aspirated 6.2-liter V-8 is rated at a comparably modest 571 hp and 479 lb-ft. The Sachsenring has plenty of slow corners, lots of climbs and descents, two long straights and two very fast and very blind fourth-gearbends.

Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O’Neal were the Angelina and Brad of their day—dazzling sex symbol meets Hollywood hunk—until their stars were tarnished by drugs, infidelity, and family pathology. In the last days of Fawcett’s life, as cancer stripped the masks from an all-too-human drama, contributing editor Leslie Bennetts shared O’Neal’s vigil, learning the true struggles and breakthroughs of their 30-year romance.

For “Beautiful People, Ugly Choices”—one of two cover stories in Vanity Fair’s September 2009 issue (to preview the Michael Jackson cover story, click here)—Bennetts also spoke to dozens of Fawcett’s associates and intimates, from actor George Hamilton and agent Sue Mengers to Fawcett’s best friend, Alana Stewart, and O’Neal’s children Tatum and Griffin. The result is a definitive portrait of Fawcett’s meteoric rise, turbulent second act, and tragic final chapter.

The truth was that Fawcett had always been more complicated than the clichés, the realities of her life far darker than the sunny image she projected. The gap between her public image and private reality was wide: “I’m always more comfortable when I have on hardly any make-up, my hair is brown and I’m very unattractive,” she said.

The work that brought her solace in later years was a love of art that had nothing to do with fame, a private passion that inspired her to sculpt female nudes with an obsessiveness that seemed like an attempt to understand the world’s fascination with her own body. The documentary [Farrah’s World] that became her last appearance violated every rule of Hollywood image-making; no other star had ever exposed herself to a viewing audience while moaning in pain, vomiting, and losing her famous hair to chemotherapy. But Fawcett’s final triumph was to integrate the public and the private at long last, imbuing her death with a larger meaning and finding redemption in baring her head along with her soul.

Fawcett’s private reality was dominated by her three-decade relationship with O’Neal, an Oscar-nominated actor with a well-earned reputation as a Lothario. She and O’Neal met in 1979, split up in 1998, and then reconnected in 2001, when he was diagnosed with leukemia. “We pulled apart, but we never popped loose,” O’Neal told Bennetts.

O’Neal cites several reasons for his breakup with Fawcett, starting with menopause. “I believe Farrah was going through some kind of life change,” he says. “I didn’t have a change of life. I was always a jerk. But they’re hard work, these divas; I was sick of it, and I was unappreciated. I just don’t think she liked me very much. So I excused myself, and I was lucky enough to meet this young girl. She was more a daughter to me than a lover, and my own daughter had flown the coop, so here was this replacement.”

Leslie Stefanson, a beautiful actress less than half his age, may have been a daughter substitute, but she and O’Neal were in bed together at his Malibu home when Fawcett made a surprise Valentine’s Day visit and walked in on them. “It was terrible,” O’Neal says. “I didn’t expect to see her down there. I tried to put my pants on, but I put both legs in one hole.”

While it’s clear that O’Neal is no angel, he’s at least willing to cop to his own flaws. At one point, he describes himself as “a hopeless father” and offers as evidence this anecdote from Fawcett’s funeral:

“I had just put the casket in the hearse and I was watching it drive away when a beautiful blonde woman comes up and embraces me,” Ryan told me. “I said to her, ‘You have a drink on you? You have a car?’ She said, ‘Daddy, it’s me—Tatum!’ I was just trying to be funny with a strange Swedish woman, and it’s my daughter. It’s so sick.”

“That’s our relationship in a nutshell,” Tatum said when I asked her about it. “You make of it what you will.” She sighed. “It had been a few years since we’d seen each other, and he was always a ladies’ man, a bon vivant.”

Leslie Bennetts, who has profiled everyone from Jennifer Aniston to Michelle Obama, offers many more revelations in “Beautiful People, Ugly Choices.” To read the whole story, pick up a copy of the September 2009 issue of Vanity Fair, available on newsstands in New York and Los Angeles on August 5 and nationally on August 11.